Win32/Olmarik.AXW

Even though it doesn't seem like it from its name, Win32/Olmarik.AXW is a Trojan infection with rootkit qualities. It means that it affects the system at the basic level and it is able to remain hidden for a long period of time, causing more damage with every day that passes. Quite often Win32/Olmarik.AXW enters the target system bundled with a shareware program, or posing as a reliable application. That is the common Trojan tactics - they often pretend to be useful programs while in fact all they do is cripple the target system.

Win32/Olmarik.AXW is of no exception. It has been around since 2009, and depending on what the hacker wants it to do, it can allow other malware to enter your system, or collect various personal data and then send it over to its creator. Thus, we can infer that Win32/Olmarik.AXW connects to the Internet behind the user's back and communicates with the real attacker over the network. As there are no common symptoms for this infection, save for the possibility that your computer might be running slower than usual, you should look for ARO.exe among the processes in Windows Task Manager.

Originally, ARO.exe is a process that is called Advanced Registry Optimizer, and it belongs to Sammsoft. Nevertheless, it is common for Trojans to hijack legitimate processes or pose as ones, so ARO.exe is also a constituent part of Win32/Olmarik.AXW. To put it simply, the ARO.exe process is not essential to either version of Windows (XP, Vista, 7) and it often causes trouble, so if you see this process, you should run a full system scan with an antimalware application, because it is very likely that you have Win32/Olmarik.AXW on board.

It might be quite difficult to remove Win32/Olmarik.AXW manually, considering it is as elusive as a Trojan with rootkit qualities can be. That is why you are advised to terminate it with a powerful computer security program of choice that would also make sure that all of its related files are gone as well. The sooner you get rid of Win32/Olmarik.AXW the better.